More than 200 people - all dressed in red - crowded into the board's meeting room saying they wanted no part of a casino in town.

Steve Trettel and John Seaver, co-chairmen of Casino Free Milford, presented selectmen with a list of impacts a casino would have on the town based on a variety of research, including the experience of the communities in Connecticut near Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

The group opposes an $850 million resort-casino proposed by Colorado developer David Nunes, in partnership with Warner Gaming and Foxwoods. The venue, called Crossroads Massachusetts, would be built at the intersection of I-495 and Rte. 16.

“It would forever change the character of our community. It’ll destroy local business and take money out of the community,” Trettel said.

Trettel and Seaver talked about the demands a casino would place on the town, including services like water, sewers, police, fire/EMS and the schools.

“Milford taxpayers would have to pay forever for the expanded infrastructure required to service a casino,” Trettel said of the water and sewer services.

Seaver identified a direct link between a casino and a rise in crime in the community, including crimes like drunk driving, embezzlement and drug violations.

Seaver said the overall traffic would become an issue on local roads as well as major highways. He said the on- and off-ramps Nunes is proposing on I-495 aren’t likely to be built, noting Federal Highway Authority regulations.

“We suggest that you don’t drink the Kool-Aid just yet,” Seaver said. “It seems improbable that the Federal Highway Authority … would grant a variance.”

While Trettel conceded that a casino would bring jobs, he said, citing research from Connecticut communities near Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, that those jobs are low-paying, dead-end jobs that likely wouldn’t appeal to those in the Milford area and would instead bring in transient workers.

Those workers would put a stress on not only the housing market, said Trettel, again citing data from Connecticut, but also the schools in terms of hiring additional personnel to educate non-English speaking students.

“You could choose to shut this down now by refusing to negotiate,” Trettel said, to applause from the crowd.

Selectmen Chairman Brian Murray said Monday night's session was for information-gathering and doesn't want to deny people the right to vote on the issue, as is written into the gaming law.

“I have responsibility to the people who don’t want it, who want it and all the people who want more information,” said Selectman Dino DeBartolomeis.

Selectman William Buckley continued to be openly opposed to the casino.

“The question becomes – to what extent is our quality of life for sale?” Buckley said.

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Lindsay Corcoran can be reached at 508-634-7582 or lcorcoran@wickedlocal.com. For Milford news throughout the day, follow her on Twitter @lacorcmdn.